Marketplace series

The Marketplace series comprises five novels by Laura Antoniou and a few
separately
published short stories, which
describe the experiences of the participants in a highly ritualized
fictional BDSM secret society. "The Marketplace" is
notable for being focused as much on character development as erotica,
and for the pansexual nature of its setting.

The main thread through these books is the idea of the Marketplace, a
secret society of people dedicated to training and selling
slaves to
qualified owners. The books consist of:

"The Marketplace" (1993)

"The Slave" (1994)

"The Trainer" (1995, revised ed., 2001)

"The Academy" (2000)

"The Reunion" (2002)

Through these books, Antoniou explores the concept of
consensual nonconsent,
gratification through service,
consensual slavery, and the support
structures needed to maintain a hidden society. The series has several
recurring characters, including the mysterious Chris Parker, a slave
trainer who aspires to be a slave himself. Other featured characters
include Robin Cassidy, a young woman who has pushed beyond the structure of
Dominance / submission role playing
and is trained to be a slave;
Imala Anderson, a Master Trainer who not only trains slaves but mentors new
trainers; Alexandra Selador and Grendel Elliot, trainers who specialize
in novice slaves; and
Michael LaGuardia, an overconfident man who believes he
can be a slave trainer. As Antoniou developed the series, she added more
characters, giving
the Marketplace universe a rich and complex international
feel, with stories taking place in the United States, Great Britain,
Ireland, and Japan.

The series is frequently cited by BDSM aficionados as one of the most
realistic portrayals of a fictional
slave-training community, with
conscious effort by the author to create a real sense of the economics
of the structure while setting the Marketplace within the contemporary
real world. There is an enormous diversity of characters in age, body
type, gender, and sexual orientation. Many conversations between characters
explore the nature of dominance and submission, sadomasochism, and the
difference between consensual pair-bonded BDSM relationships and being
sold as chattel to the highest bidder.